2018 French Nationals Saint-Raphaël: Bonnet’s 52.74 Highlights Day 5

2018 French Elite Long Course Nationals at Saint-Raphaël

• Tuesday, May 22 – Sunday, May 27, 2018
• Stade Nautique Alain Chateigner
• 50m
• Prelims at 9am local/Finals at 6pm local (Saturday 5:30, Sunday 5:45)
• Selection for European Championships
• Televised on beIN SPORTS
• Meet Central
• Start Lists
• Live Results

Day 5

After five days of competition at French Elite National Championships in Saint-Raphaël, the list of individual qualifiers for 2018 European Championships in Glasgow now stands at 23:

1. Cyrielle Duhamel (400 IM)
2. Lara Grangeon (400 IM)
3. David Aubry (400 free, 1500 free)
4. Roman Fuchs (200 free, 400 free)
5. Charlotte Bonnet (50 free, 100 free, 200 free)
6. Anouchka Martin (50 free)
7. Jérémy Stravius (50 back, 100 free)
8. Marie Wattel (100 free, 200 free, 100 fly)
9. Théo Bussière (100 breast)
10. Nans Roch (200 fly)
11. Fanny Deberghes (100 breast, 200 breast)
12. Béryl Gastaldello (50 back)
13. Mathilde Cini (50 back, 100 back)
14. Mehdy Metella (100 free)
15. Damien Joly (1500 free)
16. Stanislaus Huille (100 back)
17. Paul-Gabriel Bedel (100 back, 200 back)
18. Margaux Fabre (100 free, 200 free)
19. Fantine Lesaffre (200 breast, 200 IM)
20. Jordan Pothain (200 free)
21. Jonathan Atsu (200 free)
22. Geoffroy Mathieu (200 back)
23. Maxence Orange (200 back)

As a reminder, the FFN’s criteria for making the French squad for European Championships are as follows: The four fastest swimmers who achieve, in prelims, the qualifying times in Table 1 below AND who place among the top four eligible (French) swimmers in the final of that event, will be selected to represent France in Glasgow.

Women’s 1500 Free

• Euro 2018 qualifying criteria: 16:28.00 in prelims; top-4 in finals

1. Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED) (Montpellier Métropole Natation) 16:29.98
2. Lara Grangeon (CN Calédoniens Pôle / France Natation Course Nice) 16:35.91
3. Julie Berthier (Mulhouse ON) 16:41.15
4. Lisa Pou (AS Monaco Natation) 16:50.01

With an ambitious qualifying standard of 16:28 no one punched her ticket for the European Championships in the women’s 1500 free. Julie Berthier was the fastest Frenchwoman in Friday’s prelims with 16:47.81, but she missed the mark by 19 seconds. In finals, she improved her time to 16:41.15, placing third behind Sharon van Rouwendaal (16:29.98) and Lara Grangeon (16:35.91). Grangeon earned the French national title in the event.

Men’s 50 Breast

• Euro 2018 qualifying criteria: 27.64 in prelims; top-4 in finals

1. Théo Bussière (CN Marseille / Pôle France Natation Course Marseille) 27.80
2. Thomas Oswald (Dauphins Toulouse OEC / Pôle Espoirs Natation Course Toulouse) 28.38
3. Thibaut Capitaine (Cergy Pontoise Natation) 28.52

Théo Bussière won his second national title with a 27.80 in the final of the men’s 50 breast. Already qualified for Glasgow in the 100 breast, he missed the standard for the 50 by .30 with his prelims swim of 27.94. Thomas Oswald, entered with a seed time of 29.15, went 28.55 in prelims and 28.38 in finals to pick up the silver medal and make it a much closer final than anticipated. He touched just ahead of Thibaut Capitaine (28.52).

In the B final, Mateo Girardet of Mulhouse broke the National Age Group Record for 17-year-old boys with 28.89; he took .04 off Jean Dencausse’s mark from 2014. The B final was notable also in that it featured two members of 2017’s podium in this event: Tunisia’s Wassim Elloumi, last year’s runner-up, placed first with 28.72. Thomas Boursac Cervera Lortet, last year’s silver medalist in the 50 and this year’s gold medalist in the 200 breast, was third after Girardet with 28.99.

Women’s 200 IM

• Euro 2018 qualifying criteria: 2:14.99 in prelims; top-4 in finals

1. Fantine Lesaffre (Montpellier Métropole Natation / Pôle France Natation Course Marseille) 2:12.26
2. Cyrielle Duhamel (Stade Béthune Pélican Club) 2:12.68
3. Camille Dauba (CN Sarreguemines) 2:18.25

Fantine Lesaffre picked up her fourth national title of the meet and her second automatic qualifying time for Euros with a 2:12.26 win in the women’s 200 IM (2:14.20 in prelims). Runner-up Cyrielle Duhamel missed qualifying for Glasgow by .53, going 2:15.52 in prelims. She nonetheless put up a fight in the final. She trailed Lesaffre by nearly 1 second after the butterfly leg and continued to lose ground over the next two 50s. But she came home in a blazing 30.6 and made up 1.4 seconds of the 1.8-second deficit she had going into the freestyle. Lesaffre and Duhamel were seeded with 2:13s so they both took home new PBs.

Men’s 200 Back

• Euro 2018 qualifying criteria: 2:00.42 in prelims; top-4 in finals

1. Geoffroy Mathieu (Stade Clermont Natation) 1:58.84
2. Maxence Orange (Nantes Natation) 1:58.96
3. Paul-Gabriel Bedel (CN Marseille / Pôle France Natation Course Marseille) 1:59.53

The entire podium of the men’s 200 back qualified for European Championships. Geoffroy Mathieu defended his 2017 title with 1:58.84 in the final, touching out Maxence Orange thanks to a blazing 29.3 final 50. Orange had gone 1:58.76 to lead the morning heats and qualify for Glasgow, while Mathieu went 1:59.17 and Paul-Gabriel Bedel notched a 1:59.53.

Mewen Tomac of Amiens took another .04 off his NAG for 17-year-olds with 2:01.27 in the final, coming in 5th overall.

Women’s 100 Free

• Euro 2018 qualifying criteria: 54.91 in prelims; top-4 in finals

1. Charlotte Bonnet (Olympic Nice Natation / Pôle France Natation Course Nice) 52.74
2. Marie Wattel (Montpellier Métropole Natation) 53.53
3. Margaux Fabre (Canet 66 Natation) 54.48
4. Béryl Gastaldello (CN Marseille / Pôle France Natation Course Marseille) 54.67
5. Assia Touati (Dauphins Toulouse OEC / Pôle France Natation Course CREPS Toulouse) 55.27

Charlotte Bonnet demolished her own National Record in the 100 free and jumped to #3 in the world so far this season with 52.74. The protégée of Fabrice Pellerin at Olympic Nice Natation clocked a 53.37 in prelims to set the Championship Record and come within 1/100 of her best time, the 53.36 that took down Malia Metella’s long-standing national mark in the event at Golden Tour in Marseille last month.

Bonnet came back in the final with the goal of lowering her own PB and maybe breaking 53. She did that and then some. Out in 25.41, she was home in 27.33 for a huge 52.74. Bonnet now ranks third in the world, behind the Campbell sisters and ahead of Sarah Sjostrom, for the 2017-18 season.

For the second event in a row, the entire podium qualified to swim individually in Glasgow. In addition to Bonnet, both Marie Wattel and Margaux Fabre made the time standard in prelims with 53.76 and 54.60, respectively.

Table n°1: Individual Qualifying Time Standards

Table n°2: Relay Qualifying Time Standards